Through more than 50 years of research and development, China has made considerable progress in both desalination technologies and engineering projects. According to statistics from the China Desalination Association, at the end of 2011, 73 seawater desalting plants had been established, with a total seawater desalination output of 643,000 m³/d. The capacity of those under construction exceeds 340,000 m³/d.

This article looks at the current situation and future for seawater desalination in China and examines two completed projects: Caofeidian Seawater Desalination Project and Tianjin Dagang Desalination Project.

This article first appeared in the May/June 2012 issue of Desalination & Water Reuse magazine.